I want to share some exciting news with you! I have an all-new-and-improved, completely-redesigned website—thanks to my collaboration with web designer/developer Jill Anderson and copywriter Diedre Rienzo. I’m so glad I hired two specialists to help me bring my vision…

I know it sounds odd, but when I have project limitations, I’m way more creative. I was reminded of this during Jessica Walsh’s presentation at the HOW Design LIVE Conference in Chicago earlier this month. As the co-founder of Sagmeister…

Can you tell yet that I’m a bit of a perfectionist? I relish my work, and left to my own devices, I might do it non-stop for many hours—without a break, without a walk, without eating. When I get into…

Even if you didn’t have a calendar in view, you just know it’s January. Resources to help you change for the better, set goals and be most efficient are everywhere… Yet one thing that often gets overlooked is: Before we…

You probably know that communication is first and foremost in my book. Last time, I talked about flexible timelines, and today, I’d like to share more about how I communicate with you during a project. Generally speaking, email is a great way to…

An important part of my job as a design partner is being flexible to your needs. In my first blog post, I shared the 4 principles of communication that I practice every day. Through those principles, I begin to understand…

You probably know me as a designer. I am a designer—but over the years, I’ve learned there’s a lot more to successful design than choosing typefaces and creating layouts. It’s also about how I work with my clients and the communication-driven process…

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The Communicative Designer

I’m Karen McElmoyle. You probably know me as a designer. I am a designer—but over the years, I’ve learned there’s a lot more to successful design than choosing typefaces and creating layouts. It’s also about how I work with my clients and the communication-driven process I use. In my blog, and my bi-monthly newsletter—I share insights and tips about communicative design. To receive these in your inbox, sign up for my newsletter.

Happy Clients

I found out about Karen's work through Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. I had a special project and wanted to hire an outside firm to help. Due to her work with CML, I contacted Karen. She was responsive, offered great insight and had a strong copywriter that she worked with to help make the piece as concise and emotionally appealing as possible. The end project was professional and well-received by my CEO, Library staff and external stakeholders. It's a piece we'll be able to use for a while. Working with Karen was a pleasure!

Karen was wonderful to work with in the creation of our new view book for Carolinas College of Health Sciences (CCHS). Her attention to detail was excellent and her eye for design exceptional. What I found most beneficial was how she listened to what we were looking for and so wonderfully captured the essence of our college.

Over the past three years, Karen has been instrumental in creating and launching the Town of Harrisburg's brand identity. Her creative expertise and responsiveness to the town's input and needs has paved the way for a seamless partnership. Karen works with our staff at all levels of the organization and has coordinated with our vendors on execution and production of her designs. In all cases, she's represented town interests with the utmost professionalism. She's sensitive to budgetary requirements, proactive in seeking creative solutions and flexible to client input regarding design decisions. Karen has been and continues to be a critical member of our communications and marketing team, and I feel confident recommending her to future clients.

— Ann Gibson, Communications Specialist, Town of Harrisburg, NC

Karen did a great job designing our annual report, and working with our staff to bring a lot of disparate elements together to create one cohesive document. One board member said, ‘I think this digital annual report is one of the most attractive, focused and readable I have seen. The graphics, layout, pictures and text are superb, and most important, it is “on message.’ Congratulations to you and your colleagues for your work on the report, and to the whole staff for the work featured in the report.

Karen brought great success to our rebranding process. Although she has a very calm demeanor, we learned to greatly appreciate the passion and talent she brings. Through her exceptional graphic design and inspiring integrated identity work, she far exceeded our expectations.

— Rob Johnson, Principal, Boomerang Design

I have had the pleasure of working with Karen on several projects. She consistently provides creative designs that capture the essence of the product or service. I can always count on her to provide me with honest feedback and a willingness to listen. I highly recommend her work!

I've had the pleasure of working with Karen for more than 15 years. Her designs are clean, elegant and strategically sound. She truly understands the magic of blending the message with the visuals to create great work for clients. Karen is especially gifted when it comes to branding. She designed Tivoli's logo, which instantly communicates who we are (partners working side-by-side, while paying homage to our Italian heritage). She's also a delight to work with—smart, flexible and fun!

— Lisa Bell, Owner and Creative Director, Tivoli Partners

Karen isn’t just creative, she’s smart. I would recommend her for just about any design or branding project and look forward to working with her in the future.

— Bob Davies, Principal and Marketing Strategist, candescence

Having worked with Karen on several occasions in the past on a project basis, she was the first one we turned to when we were looking for someone to come in and help us on a more continual basis. Karen is so pleasant and easy to work with. You give her a task and she sees it through and then some. She just gets it. She was very accommodating with her schedule at a time when our shop was crazy busy. She took it in stride and got the work done; everything from design and layout to preparing mechanicals to making change after tedious change. She is a true professional and worked great with our team to get the job done no matter what was asked of her. I don’t know what we would have done without her and I look forward to the opportunity to work with her again.

— Shannon Boggess, former Senior Project Manager, HMH

Karen’s work is amazing. I keep coming back to her because she has a fresh, inviting style that is perfect for our organization, and she always does a great job of completing projects on time and within budget.

Karen is easy to work with and able to take a vague idea with little direction and create professional-looking pieces that work for the audience intended. I worked with Karen over the span of several months until I was able to hire a full-time graphic artist and I was consistently impressed with the quality of the work she produced and her ability to complete effective pieces quickly with minimal direction. Karen is a top-notch graphic artist.

— Amy Wright, Marketing Communications Director, Wastequip

Free Worksheet

The 10-Question Getting Started Guide

Get a closer look into our discovery process—not only the types of questions I’ll ask during our kick-off meeting(s), but also the “why” behind those questions. I’ll also send you The Communicative Designer—my bi-monthly e-newsletter with insights on the importance of effective communication.